


DEMA Is Not A Joke

by TheStoryTeller_with_an_Eyepatch



Category: Twenty One Pilots, Video Blogging RPF, jacksepticeye
Genre: Alternate Universe - Trench (Album), Angst with a Happy Ending, Anti gets saved by Chase, Anti is sad, Anxiety, But he won't admit it, But he's trying, DEMA (Twenty One Pilots), DEMA is a fucking nightmare, Depression, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff and Angst, I love these bois so much, I use Twenty One Pilots as a metaphor for depression because this is a good prompt, M/M, Nico is a dick, Robbie just wants to help, So is Jackie, and Anti, because IRL they have too, but im torturing them, chase is sad, im a bandito, love that, mental health, so is chase, sue me, the Ego's save a shitload of people, they're sad together, uh oh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:07:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26655610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheStoryTeller_with_an_Eyepatch/pseuds/TheStoryTeller_with_an_Eyepatch
Summary: Story Prompt #20 from my personal list:Anti Average Trench AUThis is gonna be fun.---------------------Chase has escaped from DEMA for the fifth time. it doesn't make it any easier. but will he finally make it with someone at his side?
Relationships: Anti/Chase, Antisepticeye/Chase Brody
Kudos: 10





	DEMA Is Not A Joke

**Author's Note:**

> I've wanted to do this for a while now, and I am a major TOP fan, so-  
> yeah. hope you enjoy my crossover with a bit of ship!

Story Prompt #20 from my personal list:

Anti Average Trench AU

This is gonna be fun.  
\---------------------

A lone figure walked down the middle of a Trench.  
He shivered, and pulled his coat closer to him to provide a semblance of heat. His breath condensed in front of his face, making him pull his bandana down. Keen eyes peered from under the brim of a hat, almost glowing in the darkness. Glowing yellow.  
He didn’t know he was being watched. By none other than another escapee.  
Another FPE.

The man shivered, looking around the scenery. His boots splashed in the creek below him, making him stare down at the crystal clear liquid. He couldn’t help but think of a song he’d heard.  
It seemed so long ago.  
“I can’t believe how much I hate…. Pressures of a new place roll my way…. Jumpsuit. Jumpsuit. Cover me.” he whispered into the cold air, treading on.  
Was it just him, or did he see yellow in the creek?  
No. he wasn’t seeing things.  
Yellow flower petals. His eyes widened, as he looked up at the sides of the Trench.  
The Trench he was told was dangerous.  
The Trench he was ordered never to cross.  
He shivered at the thought. He had to admit, Trench was so… scary. Unfamiliar to his sensitive eyes. Yet, he had to keep going! He had to. He promised…. He promised he’d get out of Dema. if not for himself, then for his kids. For little Sam and Jill.  
He…. he had to.  
Didn’t he?  
He shook his head, and focused back onto the…. People standing at the top of the trench. His eyes widened. Did he…. Did he know them?  
It seemed as if they were missing someone.  
But who?  
He noticed the bits of yellow falling down towards him. He gasped, and caught a flower.  
It was a daisy.  
A yellow daisy.  
He remembered something someone had said, back in that…. Prison.  
Was it a prison?  
He didn't know.  
“Yellow is hope. It’ll cover you.” his eyes snapped up with his head, as he heard the rapid pounding, only that of….  
Nico’s Stallion. He swung his head, watching as the figure only known as his Bishop rode on a white horse towards him. He stood stock straight, and closed his eyes. Only muttering “cover me…. Cover me…” he heard the man (could he call the Bishop that?) dismount his horse, and walk closer. Closer.

Until he could feel the overbearing emptiness, helplessness,and sadness, that always followed Nico wherever he ventured. He could feel a gentle, firm touch on his neck, and his last thought before he slipped into a trance of sorts, was: ‘shit…. Not again….’

And then he was walking. Walking forward, and following Nico on his horse. He could feel the overwhelming sadness, regret, and emptiness fill him with a sick kind of a familiarity.  
He was going home.  
… but was he?  
Was Dema simply the place he’d been staying? It was familiar to him, yes, the routine comforting in an odd way.  
But he had to fight.  
For what was he without his sight?

The same flitting bits of yellow caught his attention, his blunt eyes turning up to the sky.  
They focused back on the group, only whispered about.  
The Bandito’s. He caught one of the petals, and stopped, leaving Nico walking. His eyes seemed to sharpen, and brighten. He stared up at the sky, and was acutely aware of the Bishop looking back to him. His eyes gained the glow.  
That same yellow glow.  
“I can’t believe how much I hate…. Pressures of a new place roll my way. Jumpsuit, jumpsuit, cover me.” his eyes stared up at the group, as they began to shower him his form with those same flower petals. His voice started to pick up confidence, and volume. Soon, he was screaming at the people.  
The man at the side of the Trench marvelled at his bravery, wanting to help. But he couldn’t.  
Nico was after him, too.

“JUMPSUIT, JUMPSUIT, COVER ME!” he screamed to the Bandito’s, running the opposite way as the Bishop was leading him, catching all of the petals he could. They seemed to run with him, and he could feel warmth in his heart at it. He turned around for a split second, making a gun with his hand.  
He was always a good shot.

A strange ‘bullet’ of sorts materialized out of the ‘gun’, hitting the stallion's leg and making him collapse.

He took his chance.

He held his fist up in a sign for a little victory to the group. They did the same. Then, the man ran to the side of the Trench, hiding in it’s shadows. By the time he’d done this, adrenaline was pounding through his veins, his heart had leapt into his throat, and his eyes were wide under the brim of his hat. He stared down at his hands.  
He did NOT know he could do that.

His eyes turned back to the scene of Nico, who looked like he was furious.  
Apparently, losing an FPE for the fifth time didn’t please him. He smirked.

It was quickly wiped off of his face when he was dragged deeper into the shadows of Trench, a hand over his mouth, and another around his waist, tugging him gently. He cursed profanities, the words being muffled by the lean hand around his mouth.  
“Shut up. Do you want him to hear you?” a gruff voice whispered into his ear harshly, effectively shutting him up. The hand was removed as soon as they reached a camp of sorts. His eyes darted, ever observant. There was a backpack like he was wearing, and a sleeping bag. A cooking station was set up on a fire that had been put out.  
He noticed there was a tag on the backpack.  
FPE.  
His eyes widened. Then, the man appeared from behind him. He was skinny, with olive skin, and had somewhat of an unkempt beard. He looked…. Almost feral, a sharp, distrusting look in his heterochromic eyes.  
He spied a knife sheath on the others thigh, and a gun holster on his hip.

He tilted his head. The other seemed familiar, yet he couldn’t quite place who he was.  
“Who’re you?” he asked. The other crossed his arms in a defensive stance. “For now you can call me Anti. what the feck are you doing here?! With how many were there, I’d think you’d be outta here by now.” his accent was Irish, and thick, making it harder to understand him at times.  
He blinked, not knowing how to respond.  
“Uh. th-this is the fifth time I have escaped so far.” he tried to answer. “As for why i’m not out?..... I don’t know. I don’t want them to be pulled in with me.”  
Anti looked at him like he was crazy. “You can’t pull people into Trench.” he said incredulously.  
“Five times?ho-ly shite! Ya either must have really good, or bad luck.” he lamented with a lopsided grin, sharp teeth showing. He shrugged, not knowing which one was which.  
“So, what’s your name, Sharp Shooter?”

“Oh! Um…” he couldn’t remember the last time people had used his name.  
Everyone had a number in Dema, and that's what they were called by.  
But, he could remember distantly….  
“Uh, Chase Brody. Yeah.” he nodded, a small smile planting itself on his face. Anti smirked, and held his hand out. “Well, nice t’ meet ya. Welcome to Trench.”  
Chase shook it, noticing the small bit of static that shocked him. His tired eyes raked over the space that he’d be traveling, and eventually landed back on Anti. he had a small smile over his lips, that dissapeared when Chase looked at him. He wondered if he could make that smile reappear.

He sighed.

Trench was going to be difficult to navigate.  
==================

Over the next few weeks (Chase wasn’t sure; he didn’t have the best perception for time) Chase and Anti have been navigating the harrowing landscape that was Trench. More than once had he thought of turning back and fleeing to Dema, to the twisted safety it provided, but each time he’d either steeled himself, or Anti would knock some sense into him.  
“Ye outta yer fookin mind?! Ye don’t deserve to be back in that Hellhole.” the older man had said when Chase had first started to open up about those thoughts.  
Chase had nodded, and he had agreed.  
No one deserved to be in Dema.  
\-----

The two had started to get a bit more open with each other when it hit the one month mark. They started joking, and actually talking, instead of the silence they’d both been used to when they were traveling.  
Chase learned that Anti had just escaped, for the first time. He also learned that Anti wasn’t as prickly as he’d first come to believe.

“Wow.” he’d said. Anti raised his eyebrow, and looked back at him. “What?”  
“You’re actually a softy.” Chase declared with a smirk. Anti spluttered, a light blush on his cheeks, and he stomped forward,the water splashing violently. Chase cackled, a rare moment of pure joy from his part, and he ran to catch up with Anti. “aw, c’mon! I was just joking, Anti!” Anti huffed, and started running foreward.  
Chase could spy a small quirk of his lips.  
‘Oh, it’s on!’ he thought, running to catch up with his friend.

After the short game of Tag- which Chase had won by tackling Anti- they set up camp. The two settled down for the night, still slightly damp from their excursion earlier, and running on adrenaline. Exhaustion set into Chase’s bones, sitting in front of the fire. The warm glow was calming, and hopeful.  
He smiled, his eyes once more glowing a yellow color in the evening shadows.  
He soon grew tired. And drifted off.  
He didn’t noticed Anti’s matching smile, as he fell asleep.

========

It was in the second month, that Nico caught up to the pair.

They were traveling through the middle of Trench, happy conversation going on between the two, pushing each other and teasing, and all around having a good time.  
It was when they both got to a part in the geography, where they would be able to get out, were they both silent. 

Both pairs of eyes stared up at the staircase leading up and out of Trench, mouths open in silent awe. They both turned and grinned at each other. They’d been out here for months, so, so long. It was almost incomprehensible how easily they could escape this hell. Hope blossomed in both of their chests, a warm feeling that they didn't want to get rid of, as they rushed toward the side of the Trench.

Then, the Banditos appeared, in the nick of time.  
There was yelling, and pointing in multiple directions. Anti noticed, it was both at the pair, and behind them.  
Green and blue eyes whirled back to behind him, where none other than Nico was riding towards them.  
Immediately, panic replaced hope, and he urged Chase to go faster, almost shoving him up into the Bandito’s arms. Chase yelped, as three pairs of hands reached and grabbed him before he could fall back in, heaving him up onto the top.  
Immediately, he felt immense relief, like he could breathe again. He felt…. So much better. This was what it was like to be out of Trench? Out of Dema?  
It was addicting.

He started laughing, tears in his eyes as he looked up to his saviours, none other than his friends.  
He smiled widely, as they all embraced him with smiles and laughter, tears of relief and happiness, as they were reunited.

Then, he remembered Anti, and whirled around, ready to greet his new friend and embrace him.  
But he wasn’t there.  
Panic seized Chase’s heart, as he rushed to the side of the Trench, watching over. What he saw, made him cry out.

“ANTI!”

The man heard him, even as he trekked behind the Bishop, he turned his head, and had the nerve to smile up at Chase. Tears escaped the Father’s eyes, as he watched his friend be led away to the very same place they both had been running from.  
Nico was leading Anti back to Dema.  
And Chase could do nothing about it.

As the Bishop led his friend out of sight, he stood up, and walked to his old friends.  
Henrik.  
Jackie.  
Marvin.  
Jameson.  
Robbie.  
Angus.  
He looked at all of them, tears still streaming out of his glowing eyes.

“We gotta save him.”

They all nodded, albeit hesitantly.  
Jackie tried to resist, and reason with them. “Look at what he’s done to us! And besides, we can’t risk losing one of our own in Dema.” he pleaded, on deaf ears, as the others were already planning on how exactly to infiltrate Dema.  
“Shut your mouth, Jackie! Do you vant to stay at camp, or come vith us?” Henrik said sharply, looking at Jackie with turquoise eyes.  
Jackie flinched, but nodded, earning a grin from Chase.

They would arrive in two days.

==========

Anti hated it in Dema.  
He really did.  
But what choice did he have?...  
Chase was off with the others. Anti was sure he’d be happy with them, much happier than he’d be with Anti.  
Chase with Anti……

The older man would never admit it, but he really longed for company. And if that company was Chase Brody, well,  
He was good at keeping secrets.

Throughout the boring regiment of Dema, he had a lot of time to think.  
Or, well, daydream about getting out of there.  
However, it was……. Comforting. In a twisted way. Nothing changed. Nothing went wrong.  
No getting hurt.  
He Supposed that was the only upside to this damned city.

The haze of this city hung over his mind and heart, making it heavy and numb. Like a horrid sedative in a corrupted hospital. It made him want to do anything.  
Everything to make it stop.  
It choked him, filled his stomach so he had no appetite for the sparse food he had. It stuffed his mind with cotton and deperacation, making him want to draw blood.  
His blood.  
He tried. He really did. But it was hard to resist the City’s temptations and whispers. He wanted to survive for someone. He wanted to survive.  
But who was there for him if he made it home?....

Anti supposed this was Karma. Of course it was! He was right on the cusp of being free, crossing the border, and then he’d been ripped away. Ripped away from Chase. From his arms-  
No. Anti couldn't afford that now. He couldn't afford to be attached to someone who had already been saved.  
He couldn’t be attached.  
He wouldn’t make it that far.  
He missed Chase so much. How long had it been? Hours? Day? Weeks? Months?  
…..years?

Anti didn't know. Time was skewed and twisted in Dema. so much so, one could barely hold their sanity and thoughts.  
So, there he was, sitting at his windowsill and twirling a daisy in between his fingers.  
Yellow was supposed to be a sign of hope. He scoffed. Where Was that hope now that he needed it?  
Anti sighed,and looked out the window, watching the sunset. It was beautiful, he had to admit.  
Now if only he deserved that beauty.

As the sun sunk deep into the horizon, so too his fears increased with his shadow. His anxiety skyrocketed, and his thoughts progressed into madness.  
This was the effect of Dema.  
He wanted to sleep. He needed to sleep.  
But he couldn’t.  
Nightmares plagued his sleep, an overbearing stormcloud that never truly left him alone.  
Anti was so tired.

The sun had sunk, and he sighed, getting up. He needed to go to his bed and rest at least.

That was, until he decided to go out on a walk instead.  
Anti shrugged on his jacket, and walked out of the apartment. He surveyed the area, paved in stone. It was nothing special, and definitely nothing to brag about. It was barely more than a prison courtyard.

Prison.

The word resonated with this place, this city.it fit all too well. The walls, the regiment, and the utter lack of freedom.

Then, he heard a sound.  
It sounded like….footsteps?  
But who would be out at this hour? Everyone was supposed to be asleep by now.  
If it was no one else,maybe it was-

The answerto his question came in the form of six people, all dressed in green and yellow, and carrying torches.  
Anti’s eyes widened,as he recognised one in particular, who was directing the mission.  
It was Chase.

A feeling bloomed in Anti’s heart, warm and sweet. He actually smiled.  
Chase had come for him!

He rushed forward, barely a green blur, and slammed into Chase, his arms wrapping around the Father and clutching onto him. As if he would disappear any minute.  
Chase’s glowing eyes widened, but he immediately hugged Anti tightly, running his hand through the others green locks.  
“You came for me….!” Anti said, and Chase could swear he felt tears soak into his jacket.  
“Of course I would, you’re not getting rid of me that easily.” he replied, chuckling and continuing the soothing action.  
Anti continued to hold onto Chase, even as prisoners filtered out of their homes,keeping physical contact. Chase held Anti’s hand as they both marched out of Dema, leading an army of FPEs out of the cursed city.  
Anti held the brightest torch, right next to Chase the whole time.

They were hope.

And as they escaped Dema, and made their way out of Trench, Anti smiled. Truly and heartfully. He had felt lighter. Full of Hope.  
He’d never let that go.

Anti and Chase sat laughing by the fire, one of the six still awake. Henrik had a serene smile on his face, glad that everyone was having a good time. Jackie and Marvin were debating about something or other, and Robbie, JJ, and Angus were just talking and laughing with each other.  
Anti felt light as a feather,like he and Chase were the only ones here. Eventually, the two were the only ones awake, sitting side by side by the fire silently.

Anti thought about how far he’s come. He never thought that he’d find Chase, and definitely never thought he’d get out of Dema. Yet, here he was, next to the friend that saved his life.  
He couldn't be happier, sitting in the yellow gaze of Chase and the fire.  
The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, as he sensed he was being watched. He turned his head, to find it was Chase with a fond, affectionate smile. They stared at each other, neither one backing down and daring to lose eye contact.  
It would be so easy to-  
No. bad Anti. That'd ruin everything.  
Wouldn’t it?

But, it was apparently too late for second thoughts. Anti hadn’t realized the space in-between them was disappearing, until it was gone. And he felt Chase’s lips on his.  
He swore, his heart stopped for a minute.  
But, he kissed back again, slow and sweet. The moment was tender for the both of them, vulnerable. Anti’s arms circled Chase’s neck, and he felt the Father’s arms around his hips. He smiled, and pulled away, breathing semi- laboured. Both of them smiled at each other.  
“Well, that was unexpected.” Chase chuckled, and Anti nodded in agreement. “Yeah….. C-can we do that again?” he asked quietly.  
Chase smiled, and nodded, pressing his lips against Anti’s in another kiss.

And for another time today, he felt hope. True hope that things were getting better.  
He liked the feeling.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!  
> Kudos and Comments are much appreciated, you guys keep me going
> 
> I honestly had such a fun time doing this-
> 
> I hope you have a good day!!


End file.
